Plug pizzazz

By Michael Johnsen

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. — Cirrus Healthcare Products recently added a little pediatric pizzazz to its line of earplugs for swimming and sound protection with two new character licenses — SpongeBob SquarePants and Hello Kitty.

Sales of ear care products were up 3% to $47.2 million across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart) for the 52 weeks ended April 15, according to SymphonyIRI Group data.

The ultra soft earplugs employ the same technology as the antimicrobial earplug BioEars — soft silicone earplugs that use ACTIValoe.

Cirrus over the next 12 months will be releasing an additional 10 uniquely printed, themed ear care products, the company stated.